The Boy Who Heard Music

Pete Townshend talks to Ken Sharp

It’s uncanny. Now in his 60s, Pete Townshend is still the most dangerous man in rock. A master showman, Townshend owns the concert stage, unleashing a fusillade of windmills, crashing power chords and executing acrobatic leaps worthy of an Olympic gymnast. After more than 40 years, he’s still the most commanding presence in all of rock and roll.

But more than anything, Pete Townshend’s greatest gift lies in his work as an extraordinary songwriter.

Ambitious and fiercely intelligent, this creative wunderkind has always been an iconoclast, an outsider, a thinker, a seeker, a prophet and a visionary. As The Who’s principal songwriter, Townshend has garnered accolades for being one of rock’s most trailblazing creators. His literate songs are a picture perfect marriage of pent-up aggression, thought provoking lyrics and exquisitely crafted arrangements.

When charting in hindsight his monumental rise as a songwriter in the 60s, Townshend’s rapid evolution as a writer is staggering. From early atombomb- charged classics, (My Generation, I Can’t Explain, I Can See For Miles and Pictures Of Lily) to more ambitious and experimental breakthroughs (the mini-opera A Quick One, Tommy) 70s classic rock epics (Who’s Next and Quadrophenia) and more introspective fare (Who By …

by Ken Sharp
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